Great new cookie recipe

step 1. set out my butter to sit till it is room temp.

step 2. wait and wait for that darn butter to come to room temp.

step 3. finally butter at room temp. now get out toll house chocolate chip package and follow recipe on back for chocolate chip cookies.

step 4. pull freshly baked cookies out of the oven and wonder what I did wrong. Again. Because those darn cookies are FLAT!!!

Is is just me, but I can't make a chocolate chip cookie to save my life! Until now. I've been on a search for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. A recipe that produces a warm chewy chocolate chip cookie that does not look like a pancake when I'm done. I know there's a lot out there but I found the one I'm gonna use the rest of my days.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Source: Baking Illustrated, page 434)

Makes about 18 large cookies.

These oversized cookies are chewy and thick, like many of the chocolate chip cookies sold in gourmet shops and cookie stores. They rely on melted butter and an extra egg yolk to keep their texture soft. These cookies are best served warm from the oven but will retain their texture even when cooled. To ensure the proper texture, cool the cookies on the baking sheet. Oversized baking sheets allow you to get all the dough into the oven at one time. If you’re using smaller baking sheets, put fewer cookies on each sheet and bake them in batches.

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (10 5/8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup packed (7 ounces) light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

3. Either by hand or with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chips to taste.

4. Roll a scant 1/4 cup of the dough into a ball. Hold the dough ball with the fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough’s uneven surface. Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart.

5. Bake until the cookies are light golden grown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets with a side metal spatula.

One thing, I didn't follow step 4 and 5 exactly. I did scoop my dough out with a 1/4 cup and make a ball, then pull it apart so I got that jagged edge effect. But then I plopped the two balls, jagged edge up, on the baking sheet. so I came out with 2 dozen and slightly smaller cookies. (still bigger cookies than my usually toll house). And I baked my sheets one at a time, instead of two at a time suggested in step 5. I just cooked them at 325 for 15 minutes--exactly! No rotating for me. And I did cool them on the sheet. They turned out PERFECT!!! Yummy.

The lady to thank for my newly found chocolate chip cookie confidence:

The brown eyed baker. Here's the link to her site: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2008/06/21/thick-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies/